Kathleen Helen Lisson, CLT
Lymphedema therapists - our clients may already be practicing yoga!
Australian researchers sent a survey to 247 members of the Lymphedema Association of Queensland and found that, in addition to using mainstream medicine treatments for lymphedema, half of the respondents reported using at least one of 22 complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies to treat their lymphedema. CAM therapies included meditation, t’ai chi and yoga (Finnane et al., 2011).
Why is yoga a good option for our clients with lymphedema? Stress reduction practices including yoga, meditation, and repetitive prayer can create the Relaxation Response, which may improve mitochondrial resiliency (Balasubramanian, 2015).
Our clients with secondary lymphedema from cancer treatment may already be using yoga for stress reduction! Swedish researchers conducted a systematic review of systematic reviews for interventions following treatment for breast cancer and found that “exercise and yoga … have shown effects on anxiety, depression and QoL” (Olsson et al., 2019). Society for Integrative Oncology Clinical Practice Guidelines indicate “high levels of evidence support the routine use of mind-body practices, such as yoga, meditation, relaxation techniques and passive music therapy to address common mental health concerns among breast cancer patients, including anxiety, stress, depression, and mood disturbances. Additionally, meditation has been shown to improve quality of life and physical functioning, and yoga has been found to improve quality of life and fatigue” (Greenlee et al., 2017). Researchers from the Mayo clinic sent questionnaires to over 800 breast cancer survivors and 507 out of 802 respondents (63%) stated that they included yoga in their self-care practices. Almost 90% of respondents stated that yoga helped improve their symptoms (Patel, et al., 2021).
Do these benefits also occur for clients with lymphedema? Australian researchers state that “as a holistic practice, yoga may be of benefit by reducing both the physical and psychosocial effects of lymphoedema” (Loudon et al., 2017).
Yoga can also have an impact on the lymphatic system, if postures are used to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system. Ryan states that “the lymphatic system, which is so dependent on body movements, benefits from yoga because of movement, but also yoga can control the autonomic stimuli causing the muscular walls of collecting lymphatics to contract” (Ryan, 2019).
I will cover much more about yoga for lymphedema stress reduction, including yoga protocols for both upper and lower limb lymphedema as well as lymphatic filariasis in the book ‘Stress Reduction for Lymphedema,’ which will be published in Summer 2023. Stay tuned!
Balasubramanian S, Janech MG, Warren GW. Alterations in Salivary Proteome following Single Twenty-Minute Session of Yogic Breathing. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015;2015:376029. doi: 10.1155/2015/376029. Epub 2015 Mar 19. PMID: 25873979; PMCID: PMC4383272. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4383272/
Finnane A, Liu Y, Battistutta D, Janda M, Hayes SC. Lymphedema after breast or gynecological cancer: use and effectiveness of mainstream and complementary therapies. J Altern Complement Med. 2011 Sep;17(9):867-9. doi: 10.1089/acm.2010.0456. PMID: 21875352. Retrieved from: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/46303/1/46303.pdf
Greenlee H, DuPont-Reyes MJ, Balneaves LG, Carlson LE, Cohen MR, Deng G, Johnson JA, Mumber M, Seely D, Zick SM, Boyce LM, Tripathy D. Clinical practice guidelines on the evidence-based use of integrative therapies during and after breast cancer treatment. CA Cancer J Clin. 2017 May 6;67(3):194-232. doi: 10.3322/caac.21397. Epub 2017 Apr 24. PMID: 28436999; PMCID: PMC5892208. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5892208/
Loudon A, Barnett T, Piller N, Immink MA, Williams AD. Yoga management of breast cancer-related lymphoedema: a randomised controlled pilot-trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2014 Jul 1;14:214. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-14-214. PMID: 24980836; PMCID: PMC4083036. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4083036/pdf/1472-6882-14-214.pdf
Olsson Möller U, Beck I, Rydén L, Malmström M. A comprehensive approach to rehabilitation interventions following breast cancer treatment - a systematic review of systematic reviews. BMC Cancer. 2019 May 20;19(1):472. doi: 10.1186/s12885-019-5648-7. PMID: 31109309; PMCID: PMC6528312. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6528312/pdf/12885_2019_Article_5648.pdf
Patel SR, Zayas J, Medina-Inojosa JR, Loprinzi C, Cathcart-Rake EJ, Bhagra A, Olson JE, Couch FJ, Ruddy KJ. Real-World Experiences With Yoga on Cancer-Related Symptoms in Women With Breast Cancer. Glob Adv Health Med. 2021 Jan 8;10:2164956120984140. doi: 10.1177/2164956120984140. PMID: 33473331; PMCID: PMC7797571. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33473331/
Ryan, T. (2019). The Nature of care in the management of Lymphoedema; not without laughter! Journal of Lymphoedema, 14(1), 54–55. Retrieved from: https://lymphoedemaeducation.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/11.-The-nature-of-care-in-the-management-of-lymphoedema-not-without-laughter.pdf
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